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In that case, you are a moron

My first choice would be '03 SCV, but that's another topic altogether. DCI might not ever see a drumline play with the aggression and musicality of '03 and '04 Vanguard. Jim Casella's beats with Murray's approach was simply amazing. I am a Rennick fan as well, but I'd give any amount of money to see '03 and '04 Jonz in the lot just one more time. Those guys brought it.

I used to aim for those suckers

Jeff Prosperie, every single time.

You can dismiss this all you want, but IMO you are 100% wrong. The experience kids in competitive bands have is almost exactly the experience weekend corps provided long ago...only for so many more than were able to experience marching/competing back then. Never going to happen. The competitive bands you so blithely dismiss have more than covered the weekend-only experience.

Ever since I've been watching the Cavaliers, most of 'em wore green shirts.

There are a couple of flaws in your argument that lead me to believe that maybe you don't know exactly why the judges are on the field in the first place. Typically, the field judges are down there for individual execution. They are looking for uniformity of approach, blend from player to player, intonation etc. A lot of that is very difficult to judge from up top because many of the parts aren't exposed enough through the entire ensemble to be absolutely sure. I'm sorry, but you can't accurately judge the Cadets and the Blue Devils brass lines against each other for execution from all the way up in the box. Again, these guys are not looking for big picture. That's what your effect judges are for. Obviously the big picture is what's important to the crowd for the most part, but there are execution factors to the sheets for a reason. So no, drum judges, brass judges, individual marching judges, etc could not do their jobs without getting an up close comparison from player to player. They use their ears AND eyes in their job because that IS their job.

I nominate you to become the Corps Director for the Phoenix University Drum Corps, CaballerosJr

For all intents and purposes, you infer too much about what might happen, and it's leaning heavily towards the rosy end of the spectrum. Budgets already are being cut across the board, NCLB is making more districts lose money because of achievement gaps, and states/cities cannot raise enough funds to pay for salaries, buildings, buses, etc. Universities are charging more for tuition than before, citing lack of state-subsidies and you expect more funding to cover staff for the ensemble? Universities have a responsibility to many forms of research, studies, and other academic advancement. Funds that can towards a biochemical lab for the study of cancers will be priorities over music and fine arts schools, unless it's gifted as such. Thanks for making me realize my head can hurt more.

This is all I know... Edge Performance Ensemble (The Brainchild of David Bruni and his Empire Statesmen organization) has had several performances in Charlotte area today and has been a great hit with the community. Due to rules of the show (America's Got Talent), there can be no official or un-official statements at this time related to their audition. You should hear something in a few weeks.

I didnt think anything was wrong with the brass book. Especially ESOM

For a small show, Fondlesack... er, Fond du Lac sure packed a lot of entertainment last night. Four World Class corps, all over 79, within 0.75 of each other; Oregon coming out and smashing Open Class for one night; the three Class A medalists within 0.35. Forward Dynamics, The Fastener Group, and Flying Babies Entertainment are going to be in a dog-fight all season, it looks like. Maybe we should form our own midwest consortium, called "triple forte" or something.

Same here my friend. It will be awesome!

08 Cadets closer, watching the drum judge almost get run over multiple times = priceless.

I have to say 04 Vanguard. The combination of musicality, sound quality and finesse was unbelievable, and that front ensemble was amazing.

I concur. The next day my wife and I flew back to Boston, via O'Hare. There were quite a few members of the Scouts on the plane with us. Naturally they were still "over the moon.". But the thing I was most struck by, the thing they kept returning to again and again in their happy, bubbling recounting of the previous evening, was how absolutely astonished they were that they had won. Even the next day they still couldn't quite believe it. I had figured them for third behind BD and SCV. Even today I think that finish would have been proper. And I mean no offense to the superlative performance that Madison put on. They were wonderful. However, BD and SCV absolutely took my breath away.

The easiest way to start a drum corps is to marry a rich widow who is months away from death. The easiest way to start a drum corps is to play the lottery with your entire paycheck for a year or more. The most effective way to start a drum corps is to realize that rarely does "good" come from "easy" Then you might read Bill Cook's diatribe "So, you want to start a drum corps?". It will bring you back to reality. You can find it HERE

I respectfully disagree. I heard them at early season warm-ups/rehearsals and several shows throughout the season - usually at low vantage points, like the 4th or 5th row. That was a stellar hornline. Maybe you caught them a couple of times when they had an off night, but in the end, they did win high brass outright at Quarter-Finals and were part of a 3-way tie overall. Comparing them to 92 Star...that's another matter. That was also a stellar hornline, and it's hard to tell how 95 Madison's hornline would have placed against them since bringing those 2 lines together would violate the laws of physics and the time/space continuum.

I figured I would get flamed and negged. Its kind of disheartening that DCP realists are often asked to put on the kid gloves when talking about who's better and why. Imagine this for a second. A panel of college football experts are talking about the Heisman trophy race. One expert singles out a leading candidate for having problems with being sloppy with the ball and being prone to fumble and for this reason states that he should NOT be the frontrunner. Can you imagine any of the other panelists not disagreeing with him but simply calling him rude and his comments un called for? Of course not. And of course this type of discussion and more heated ones that the example are par for the course in all college sports. Now, college football players and world class drum corps members are roughly the same age. Why do we treat drum corps kids differently? Cause they are musicians? Well, that would imply that musicians are weaker and more sensitive to criticism than athletes. This is not a stereotype that I want to encourage. Or is it because drum corps is not as popular as football and therefore we should protect it more by always being nice? Well, trying to protect drum corps by hyping all groups equally and not ever being critical makes us look ingenuine and makes us look like we are trying too hard to be accepted. All in all, its not a big deal that someone gets critical on here. We're all adults. All the folks that marched 95 madison are in there 30's by now. They can take it. And for myself I can dish it and take it. When people make fun of how we (The mid-90 Cadets) bounced on the back up technique, I smile and laugh. (Partly because its so true. ) I know I just hijacked the post. Does anyone think I should start a thread on this subject?

I remember competing against the Midshipmen! Our 'corps clown' discovered that if you held your tongue when saying 'Midshipmen', it came out a bit differently! Don't ask me how I recall, this, but I guess it is silliness of youth! Heck, I cant remember what I had for dinner last night, but I can remember that!! As for me, I too marched in a show before I saw one because we competed in our first show in 1972 in the St. Mathias (Cadets) church parking lot in Milwaukee. Being a new corps, we went on first. THEN I saw my first show! Again, for some reason, I remember the Windjammers, Crusader Gladiators, St. Mathias Cadets were there and maybe the Sundowners plus a few more I don't recall. I do remember being thrilled that we did not come in last in our first show - we beat the Crusader Gladiators. The corps that made the biggest impression on me; we went to the first DCI in Whitewater that year and while every single one blew me away, Anaheim Kingsmen became my favorite and stayed that way! We almost beat them at DCI Midwest in 1976 (they were 10th, we were 11th - the last year they only took 10 in finals)...that would have been bittersweet as they were my idols! jim P.S. You are all saying 'Midshipmen' while holding your tongue, aren't you??!!

OMG, I cannot believe there is a debate and that the best hornline is not winning. Talk about a mediocre show clouding the judgment of DCP'ers. Its 92 Star hands down. My friend Wayne Dillon who was on the field that night said that the performance was perfect. One of the few 9.9 in field brass. So much shaping and technique all done flawlessly. Also, if any of you that voted for Madison 95 ever heard them up close and personal and without the percussion and pit cymbals covering stuff up, you would probably change your vote. Their warm ups in the lot was always crack and slop central. Sorry for my bluntness but, its the truth.

In 1993 Star won Brass by themselves. In 1995 Cadets, Madison and Blue Devils tied for Brass.The brass award was decided then by a avarage of all three nights, and when all three nights were taken into effect those three corps tied for high brass.

This one is toooough. I went with 94 Blue Devils - especially from the year before, '94 was the equivalent of the line going from laid back to pushing forward. Mike

Really?

1.) PR 06 2.) SCV 04 3.) Cavies 00 4.) PR 08 5.) Cadets 05 6.) Cadets 03 7.) Blue Devils 09 8.) Cadets 01 9.)Cadets 02 10.) BD 07

04 SCV.

2004 SCV

2004 Santa Clara Vanguard for me. Mike

Haha love it! And about the Cadets videos: Because the Cadets have always been one of my favorite corps, the extra footage during the offseason is awesome IMO! It lets us see more and more of the hard work it took the members to get to the Championship! Seeing them out of uniform, working hard, and just running through reps like every other group I've ever been in is really cool. It kind of forms a stronger bond to the group for the fans! These sort of videos have the potential to bring more people to the auditions, resulting in a wider variety of members to pick from for the corps. I alsways found it easier to find Cadets shows. If I were to look up the Bluecoats on YouTube, I would spend maybe ten minutes trying to find a video of their finals performance. Cadets are superior in putting out extra stuff for the fans.

96 Regiment for me. Their best ever in my opinion.

There are thousands of local weekend only groups...that is exactly what competitive MB are...only there are thousands more of them than EVER existed in drum corps.

EPIC WIN!!!!

There was this good-looking guy at my church who was really into drum corps. He wore this t-shirt that said "Phantom Regiment" on it all the time. Knowing that I was a musician, he explained what it was and told me about the shows he'd seen. I happened to notice that this drum corps thing was going to be on television, so when I mentioned the broadcast, he asked where I wanted to watch... his place or mine! Our first date, then, was watching the 1986 finals on TV. I remember being awed by the whole thing and being particularly impressed by Santa Clara's costume change. The first show I saw live was the 1987 finals the next summer, by which time I was engaged to this good-looking drum corps fan. I was blown away. Sad to say, we had to miss the 1988 finals because we got married that weekend. I really loved the 1989 Phantom Regiment & Santa Clara shows, and the 1990 Cavaliers show was also a favorite. I also remember sitting in the Cotton Bowl, patting my pregnant belly as I listened to Phantom Regiment playing "Nessun Dorma" thinking maybe someday... Now we are really privileged - - our daughter will be marching for the first time with Legends, and after marching two seasons with Legends, our son earned a position in the 2012 Phantom Regiment front ensemble. And guess what - - they're playing "Nessun Dorma."

Loved their look that year - like '89, the black jackets and light guard made the whole thing into a jazz dinner party-type affair, and that was neat, especially under stadium lights. I admit, I'm a huge sucker for the opener and closer (the soft opener was definitely something fairly unique, even at the time). I do like the interior of the show, but not as much as the bookends. Since I Fell For You is to this day in my permanent iPod rotation. Mike

1975 PBS Broadcast...spectacular shows by SCV, Blue Stars, BD, and of course, Madison.

The first time I ever saw any drum corps was 1977 finals on PBS...but when I saw 1978 I was HOOKED! Crossmen, Bridgemen, Blue Stars, and Phantom Regiments shows were staples in listening! In fact I had a cassette with those four performances on it and wore it out!

We really enjoyed there show from 2011. There are just so many good Drum and Bugle Corps these days, keep going for it Blue Stars!

Zing! Dead on.

1. Blue Devils 2. Cavaliers 3. The Cadets 4. Carolina Crown 5. Santa Clara Vanguard 6. Bluecoats 7. Phantom Regiment 8. Blue Stars 9. Boston Crusaders 10. Madison Scouts 11. Blue Knights 12. Glassmen Bold, I know.

I enjoyed seeing this.

whether you feel this deserves coverage on DCP or not... the fact is about 35 of the finest drum corps people I know are performing today in Charlotte for America's Got Talent... and frankly, while not being "exactly" what we like to call drum corps, they are performing exactly the same kind of moves we taught them to perform on the football field... Not only do we wish them well... let's hope they kick butt... the activity could use the shot in the arm... Anyone who has any first hand info on how things are going... please share...

Not really, no. During exposed parts or sparse horn moments, yes, but not during any part with decent horn volume. It just doesn't cut through that stuff enough to be readable at the front.

I seem to remember reading here on DCP a couple of years ago about a Blue Stars guy (trumpet player, I believe) running into a judge on finals night such that his lip was busted and he couldn't play the rest of the show. On finals night? Really? Messing up a person's finals run is inexcusable. And yes to the prosperie thing. Listen to Cavies and PR drum tapes from 06, you can clearly hear him running into a guard person in both shows. Unfortunately, though, given the typical location of the batterie relative to horns, even standing on the front sideline wouldn't really cut it in most situations.

I predict it would still beat Pioneer. They OWN last.

I guess I'll play along too... 01. Santa Clara Vanguard 02. Carolina Crown 03. The Cavaliers 04. Blue Devils 05. The Cadets 06. Boston Crusaders 07. Phantom Regiment 08. Bluecoats 09. Blue Knights 10. Madison Scouts 11. Spirit of Atlanta 12. Crossmen ------------------------- 13. Blue Stars 14. Glassmen 15. The Academy Etc.

Ohh prediction Threads hmm.. 1. Cavailers 2. Santa Clara Vanguard (Believe people) 3. Crown 4. Blue Devils 5. Phantom 6. Cadets 7. Bluecoats 8. Madison 9. Boston 10. Blue Knights 11. Troopers 12. SOA back into the darkness of the web I go

For the corps in this range, it is all about veteran member retention and staff stability. Based on the number of age-outs in the left stands at 2011 semis, it looks like Blue Stars had a bunch of members aging out (at least 40+). Plus, their drop in placement and poor choice of show in 2011 cannot be helping their retention of 19-21 year old vets this winter. I see Spirit, The Academy and Glassmen as possibly challenging them for their eleventh place/finalist spot in 2012. As for the others, no predictions from me until at least the completion of March or April camps. Topo many variables still out there (i.e., show choices, tech staff announcements, camp pics/videos).

I really wish DCI would take the judges off the field. Even one kid getting hit is too many.

The staff change I was referring to was Robert Smith as the brass arranger.... sorry about not being more precise.

We do not see the Tony Award judges on stage listening to Audra MacDonald. We do not see the Academy voters on the screen in "The Descendents". We do not see which Floride primary voters selected Mitt over Newt. We do not see the Kentucky Fried Chicken secret recipe. We do not know why Madonna is only singing one new song at the Super Bowl. Anyway, The on-field judges have always been distracting, especially the judges who find themselves suddenly galloping to avoid a near-hit with a corps member.